Today is Halloween, which is cool in its own right. In addition to its own haunted fun, Halloween is the last day before the start of NaNoWriMo, that annual frenzy of typing and caffeine. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, an international event in which people try to complete a first draft...

Forget the stereotype of demur, corset-wearing, tea-drinking Victorian women. Women in the 19th century played many roles beside the quiet child raisers of far too many films. Here’s a glimpse of how some women spent their steampunk era lives, as scientists, criminals, activists, and even soldiers. Last month, the Guardian had an interesting story about...

Language is tricky business. Never mind the hundreds of languages and “official” dialects, every country, region, city, neighborhood, household, and person has their own little twists on language. Possibly even more than physical location, time period affects language. Look at the way rabid Mad Men fans/critics go over every turn of phrase! All of this...

If you’re a steampunk writer, there is a new anthology coming that you have to know about. The idea was born in the roiling discussion of a Twitter Steampunk chat, and is being nurtured by Flying Pen Press into a reality. That reality is a steampunk Shakespeare anthology, with the working title of (deep breath)...